US close: Markets gain as financial earnings impress, chipmakers rise

(Sharecast News) - US stocks advanced on Thursday, as strong performances from Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Morgan Stanley helped to repair sentiment in the banking sector after some underwhelming results earlier in the week.

Record fourth-quarter figures from chipmaking giant TSMC also helped to boost the mood in the tech sector, along with a host of better-than-expected economic data, which included jobless claims falling well below forecasts.

Markets bounced back after two days of losses, with the Dow finishing 0.6% higher and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rising 0.3%.

Data from the Labor Department early on showed that initial jobless claims decreased to 198,000 last week, down by 9,000 from the prior week's downwardly revised level and significantly under the 215,000 expected by analysts. Continuing claims decreased by 19,000 to 1.88m.

"A drop in US unemployment claims also provided some reassurance about the state of the economy, although it might in turn be a factor that could dissuade the Federal Reserve from cutting rates at their next meeting later this month," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

In other macro news, US import prices rose 0.4% in the two months ended 30 November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or 0.1% in the 12 months through November, while export prices increased 0.5% over the two-month period and 3.3% over the year.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index unexpectedly improved to 12.6 in January, easily beating the -3.5 consensus, up from the prior week's upwardly revised reading of -8.8, while the NY Empire State manufacturing index jumped to 7.7 in January, up from a revised -3.7 in December and beating forecasts of 1.

Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Morgan Stanley impress

Quarterly profits at Goldman Sachs comfortably beat expectations, boosted by higher investment banking fees and bumper trading revenues. Diluted earnings per share rose to $14.01 in the three months to December end at the Wall Street bank, up from $11.95 a year previously. Consensus had been for EPS of $11.67.

Asset manager BlackRock posted its biggest quarterly inflows on record, pushing assets under management above $14trn for the first time in the company's history, up from $11.6trn a year earlier. Blackrock saw $342bn of investor capital in the three months ended 31 December, smashing past Wall Street expectations of $269bn, principally due to its equity and fixed income units.

Morgan Stanley also posted forecast-beating results for the fourth quarter as the US banking giant topped both revenue and profit estimates on the back of a strong wealth management performance. Revenues came in at a record $17.89bn in the fourth quarter, up from $16.22bn the year before, comfortably ahead of the $17.77bn consensus forecast.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest computer chip maker, was also in the spotlight after it reported a net profit of NT$ 506bn (�11.92bn) for the October to December quarter, up 35% from a year earlier and ahead of analysts' estimates, causing US-listed shares in the company to jump.

TSMC's earnings came hot on the heels of Donald Trump's move to impose a 25% tariff on certain semiconductors. However, he also said the levy will not apply to chips imported to contribute to the buildout of America's technology supply chain. Micron Technology, Nvidia, and VanEck also traded higher on the news.

Dow Jones - Risers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $975.86 4.63%

Boeing Co. (BA) $247.74 2.11%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $645.78 1.32%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $338.96 1.19%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $75.25 1.13%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $379.16 0.85%

3M Co. (MMM) $170.86 0.65%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $219.61 0.47%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $309.26 0.45%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $330.03 0.32%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $297.95 -3.59%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $233.53 -2.52%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $64.59 -1.49%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $70.48 -1.34%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.36 -1.18%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $144.63 -1.18%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $27.94 -1.13%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.32 -0.82%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $258.21 -0.67%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $166.23 -0.65%

S&P 500 - Risers

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,544.96 7.70%

Blackrock Inc. (BLK) $1,157.90 5.93%

NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $158.34 5.79%

Morgan Stanley (MS) $191.23 5.78%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $319.08 5.69%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $8.64 5.36%

Amphenol Corp. (APH) $154.22 5.09%

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $116.02 4.76%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $975.86 4.63%

Citigroup Inc. (C) $117.46 4.49%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $36.32 -4.22%

Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) $90.03 -3.96%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $194.61 -3.82%

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $1,032.97 -3.76%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $297.95 -3.59%

Gartner Inc. (IT) $230.83 -3.58%

ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $73.43 -3.30%

Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $14.84 -3.26%

Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $74.83 -3.21%

Unum Group (UNM) $77.39 -3.04%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,544.96 7.70%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $319.08 5.69%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,331.60 5.37%

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $9.78 5.02%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $217.47 4.16%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $15.71 3.76%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $222.10 3.30%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $43.53 2.62%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $320.32 2.57%

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $121.92 2.45%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $194.61 -3.82%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $438.92 -2.36%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $61.30 -2.36%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $58.46 -2.34%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $121.26 -2.26%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $189.12 -2.24%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $84.82 -2.17%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $554.58 -2.12%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $136.06 -2.09%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $161.39 -1.91%